ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA GOLD PORTFOLIO 1954-1965
Without the arrival of the Giulietta it would be safe to say that Alfa Romeo might not have survived the 50s. Some people may think that statement a little dramatic but there is a large grain of truth in it. The 1900 saloon had established the template that would be used by Alfa right through until the Alfettas of the 70s. As good as the 1900 was, the key people at the company knew that what was required was a smaller range using the same mechanical layout. The result of these studies was the design and development of a completely new DOHC 1.3 litre engine that would drive the rear wheels through a four-speed (later upgraded to a five-speed) gearbox. It was to power a model that would be positioned above the Fiats in a niche that was occupied by Alfas rival Lancia. Between them they created the premium small car market. The first of the new Giulietta range that was announced in 1954 was the coupé, followed by the spider and saloon a year later. Because Alfa did not have the production capacity, a contract was let to Bertone for the coupé and to Farina for the spider. As an added incentive to the people, a special lottery was arranged with Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint coupés being offered as prizes. Only the Italians would do something like that! Bertone tooled to build around 400 units using soft tooling and a lot of hand finishing. Such was the response by the public to the pretty Sprint coupe that orders flooded in. New arrangements had to be made, and quickly. Soon, Carrozzeria Bertone had enlarged its premises and a proper assembly line installed. By the time production ended more than 40,000 had been built and sold! All models in the Giulietta range were powered by the 1.3 litre DOHC engine that at first developed 65 bhp, but this was soon raised to 90 bhp and in the later Giulia 1.6 litre versions to 115 bhp. For its time, the Giuliettas performance was simply sensational, with the Sprint often being compared in magazine road tests to the Porsche 356. It was not long before there was a considerable proliferation of models using the Giulietta platform. The factory offered the Ti saloon and Bertone came out with the aggressively aerodynamic Sprint Speciale series that were built in small numbers while Zagato built the gorgeous Sprint Zagato, better known as the SZ. Both the SZ and Sprint Speciale are very much collectors items today. Other carrozzeria in Turin and Milan would build coupés and spiders as either one-offs or in very small series for their clients. In addition a thriving performance industry sprang up around the eminently tuneable Alfa Romeo DOHC engine. Production continued until 1965 when the next generation was introduced. Throughout the decade in which they were built, Alfa Romeo was able to establish itself in all major world markets, including America, where they sold in small-but-consistent numbers to people who appreciated their uniquely sporting attributes. The Giulietta, having celebrating its 50th Anniversary (1954-2004), set the template for all future Alfas insofar as they were spirited and nimble cars to drive fast and they had oodles of that Italian temperament for which they were justly famous. Gavin Farmer
